Vets that specialize in OES
A) Uninformed, by this I mean on new standards and procedures in the field B) Pushing things that may not be in the best interest of your dog (pet food, shots, or surgeries) C) Do not know the ins and outs of the OES Breed While I respect most all vets opinions and educations, and in no way mean this as an insult, (I am sure this is not the case with most vets) I was wondering: Does anyone know the best way to find a local vet that is well informed in these areas? And may have expertise with the breed and the ways to deal with its issues? I know that there are orginizations and list for breeders and the like. Is there any list or guidelines I can go on when selecting a vet for my OES? |
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| WOW! You ask good questions....
There's no such list that I know of. It takes asking the right people the right questions. And those are really three different issues. But with a little leg work and some luck, you can find the vet that embodies all of that. Or perhaps even two who complement each other very nicely and are smart enough to know that not every vet can possibly know everything about everything. I can only tell you how I'd approach this if I had to move to a new area and all efforts to make my current vet move with me failed 
One of the best ways to find a vet who is familiar with OES is to ask any (reputable) OES breeders in your area which vet<s> they go to. If they've seen the same vet for a number of years (a) that vet is probably good and (b) said vet has learned a lot about OES from them/their dogs. The absolute ideal is a vet who is also an OES breeder. We have a few of those, including mine (I consider myself darn lucky!!), but not nearly enough to cover all areas <bg> I don't know of anyone in your area unfortunately. If you don't have any OES breeders in your area, the next thing I would pursue is asking a few other (reputable) breeders of other breeds who they use. I guess I just like breeder-friendly vets because they (a) typically realize that there are such things as breed differences and will try to find out about things common to your breed and (b) are used to assuming owner is not necessarily a complete idiot, so will listen to you. For vets who won't jump to unnecessary procedures first and ask questions later, in addition to the question "do a number of breeders trust this vet?", I would ask local (serious) agility/performance competitors (any breed) who they go to (some of them may be breeders as well, even better), because that is probably one of the groups where you will find the highest concentration of people who demand (a) cutting edge medical knowledge and (b) as conservative as possible an approach (concerns about over vaccinating, vets who are too quick to cut, we always want second and third opinions on anything life-altering, i.e. our dogs are our life) Just a couple of things to keep in mind. That approach will take getting plugged into the local dog community a bit, if you aren't already. But that's not a bad thing. Kristine |
| Since you are in the St Louis area and there is a number of OES owners here on the forum that live in that area, I would ask what vet they use. |
| Thanks for the responses, I am looking at joining the local OES club and they have an event planned for Nov. 10 in IL, its an agility class/introduction. I have been in contact with SheepieMommy and sheepieshake about the club.
The breeders I got my OES from go to a vet that is about 30 mins away from me, while he has worked with their litters (3 or 4 to date) He seems to push a lot of products and is kind of a hard sell for my taste. I let Chewy finish out all his puppy shots and the like with him since he knew his history. I live near the city and there are vet clinics every few miles, I thought now would be an ideal time to find a vet who meets the above criteria. While distances is in no way an issue, it would be nice if they were closer.  |
| The hard sell approach wouldn't work well with me either.
Ironically, I've left two vet clinics behind for giving my dog - two different dogs - vaccinations I specifically requested they NOT receive: Lyme in Belle's case, and Bordatella when Mad was a puppy. I inherited the first vet when I got Belle, she was older, and tried the other clinic because my dogs' breeder was trying them - she had moved to the area fairly recently and was almost as much in the dark as I was. Nice vets, in the second case, but both clear cases of Dr-knows-better-than-ignorant-pet-person (well, yes, I would hope the one with the DVM behind the name is the one who knows the most, but that doesn't mean I won't do my homework or that I'll just sit idly by when my dogs' wellbeing is on the line). That and the second clinic kept trying to schedule my 6 mos old show/agility puppy's spay surgery 
I don't think I'd last three minutes with vets who give me the "because we've always done it that way" spiel when I know there is more current research out there pointing to an alternative, or in some instances directly contrary, approach and who poo-poo my concerns. My current vet will sometimes nicely tell me I'm being an idiot. If she does - she's already earned the right to say that - I know I can confidently assume that's the case But she always listens to my concerns first, gives me the facts, let's me know if she thinks further research or a specialist's opinion is warranted, and let's me work things through for myself. Any relationship with a vet should be a two way street.
I think most vets out there are technically very good. Some times you just have to find the one whose background, philosophy and personality works best for you. Now, as for this new St Louis OES club - they're starting out with an agility intro? MY KIND OF CLUB! Kristine |
| That intro to agility is all Judi. All the kudos go to her.
As for vets in this area... I live in Elsberry and I choose to drive an hour to weintzville to see Dr. Carter. While not a specialist in OES, he is familar with the breed. He has friends that used to show and breed them. His specialty is Basenji's. Those dogs are all backwards and require a lot of altering procedures to keep them healthy. He has been active in the breed/dogs for his entire carrer. He shows, breeds, handles, participates in research studies, and traveled to africa to bring back wild Basenji's to broaden the jean pool along with several other accomplished Vet's. His bedside mannor is fabulous and always treats me like a pet professional. He sees both of my OES and will be seeing my foster OES soon. He is located on Hyw N and his number is 636-639-9999 If that is out of the way for you, ask Judi or George to recommend someone there familar with out there near the city. I'll be seeing you soon! |
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